“We have a bunch of idiots. We go out there, we’re ugly and we just have fun.”

Make no mistake here – Millar wasn’t being critical of his teammates with the “idiots” reference. Far from it.

Rather, the Sox’ first baseman was praising this team for its attitude. There was a time when the Sox clubhouse was caustic, full of players with me-first ideals.

No more.

“We’ve been a family all year, and I think that’s what makes this team special,” Millar said. “We go eat, we’re 21-deep in a restaurant. We’re trying to shove five in cab to get to the stadium. You know the old days where [it was] 25 cabs for the players? No. This team’s awesome, man. And when we go out to eat or go out to lunch, when we’re walking around 12- or 13-deep, that’s what it’s about.”

Manager Grady Little, whose head is shaved along with just about all of his players’, called the Sox a “group of renegades.”

Listen to him talk about his team for just a couple minutes and you’ll see how he feels about this club. His answers are peppered with terms like “resiliency,” sprinkled with references to its character.

According to Little, the Sox care about only two things.

“They care about their Harley Davidsons running good enough, that they won’t run off the Tobin Bridge over there in Boston,” Little said, “and playing baseball.”

They’ve played it well. This year’s Sox team won just two games more than last year’s, but is there any question that Boston is 10 times a better club in 2003? Yes, the lineup is tougher. But the chemistry – infused by newcomers Millar, David Ortiz, Todd Walker, etc. – deserves credit, too.

Just watch. When a Boston pitcher leaves the game, he’s likely to get a hug from Ortiz upon entering the dugout. When Ramirez – never known as the consummate team player – hit his crucial Game 5 ALDS homer, his first thought wasn’t to glorify himself, but to point to his team’s dugout. And when he touched home, he jumped right into Millar’s arms.

“I think that counts a lot, believe it or not,” Millar said. “I’ve been on teams where there’s not a lot of people rooting for everybody. On this team, everybody pulls for everybody.